WHat is the most secure email service?

[regency]

Could someone explain step-by-step how to use Thunderbird+Enigmail configured with Gmail? I am new to Ubuntu.

[sudodus]

Could someone explain step-by-step how to use Thunderbird+Enigmail configured with Gmail? I am new to Ubuntu.

I was able to install it using this link http://www.enigmail.net/home/index.php

[tubbygweilo]

+1, rather good advice and rather good documentation. Just the source I used.

[haqking]

Privacy and security are not the same thing, though they often go hand in hand.

For privacy then yes something like Tormail is a good choice, but the "security" of a Tormail account is no more secure than most other services. The security of the server hosting your email and any vulnerabilities or exploits or weaknesses assoicated with it are likely to be smiliar to most other professional services, the security of your account specifically will rely on your own password construction, this of course then relies on how the server stores it and secures it.

Some services offer greater privacy, but Gmails security is no less or greater than Zoho, Hotmail, Tormail, etc etc. Though there are some poorly configured and administered services of course as there always will be.

Peace

[Stonecold1995]

Some services offer greater privacy, but Gmails security is no less or greater than Zoho, Hotmail, Tormail, etc etc. Though there are some poorly configured and administered services of course as there always will be.

That's not necessarily true. TorMail is more secure as well as private. Because it's a "hidden service" on the deep web, (i.e. onion site), it is much harder to hack into. Plus, it comes with no bells and whistles, and relies almost entirely on pure HTML (no web apps or complicated setups which is what makes the other websites much easier targets). I would be exceedingly impressed if someone managed to break through Tor in order to get to TorMail. With so few options for vulnerabilities the only way you could hack TorMail would be to try and gain root by brute force, and Tor alone would slow that down to an impossible speed. The simplicity makes vulnerabilities like XSS much easier to prevent than with the giants you see rushing to patch vulnerabilities as they pop up all over the place (I'm looking at you Microsoft).

Just look at how often Google, Microsoft, etc gets hacked, just because a company is large and popular doesn't mean it's just as secure as a small one behind an onion hidden service. And you can't really say that it's because those are bigger targets, because managing to get into TorMail would give any hacker/cracker far more valuable information than with another e-mail service.

Considering even the American government is unable to get to TorMail, I think that makes it pretty secure, as well as private.

[cariboo]

The one problem I see with Tor, is that spammers have started using it too, and many forums and others web services, including this one do block an ip address if to much spam originates from it, so using TorMail may be secure, but if no-one can receive it, the security doesn't do much good.

[haqking]

That's not necessarily true. TorMail is more secure as well as private. Because it's a "hidden service" on the deep web, (i.e. onion site), it is much harder to hack into. Plus, it comes with no bells and whistles, and relies almost entirely on pure HTML (no web apps or complicated setups which is what makes the other websites much easier targets). I would be exceedingly impressed if someone managed to break through Tor in order to get to TorMail. With so few options for vulnerabilities the only way you could hack TorMail would be to try and gain root by brute force, and Tor alone would slow that down to an impossible speed. The simplicity makes vulnerabilities like XSS much easier to prevent than with the giants you see rushing to patch vulnerabilities as they pop up all over the place (I'm looking at you Microsoft).

Just look at how often Google, Microsoft, etc gets hacked, just because a company is large and popular doesn't mean it's just as secure as a small one behind an onion hidden service. And you can't really say that it's because those are bigger targets, because managing to get into TorMail would give any hacker/cracker far more valuable information than with another e-mail service.

Considering even the American government is unable to get to TorMail, I think that makes it pretty secure, as well as private.

LOL the Govt are unable to get to it ? LOL

And you know Tormail is in no way connected to the Torproject or its developers, it is not a officially sanctioned project.

I could setup an email service tomorrow using Tor, would you use it ?

Anyways enjoy your service.

[tubbygweilo]

. . .

I could setup an email service tomorrow using Tor, would you use it ?

Anyways enjoy your service.

It is sisyphean task trying to convince people to use Thunderbird, Enigmail & Gmail let alone anything else

[haqking]

It is sisyphean task trying to convince people to use Thunderbird, Enigmail & Gmail let alone anything else

I was being sarcastic, not offering such a service </sarcasm>

[Stonecold1995]

LOL the Govt are unable to get to it ? LOL

Well, considering they've been trying to find the hackers/crackers, pedophiles, and drug dealers that use it, and failed, it seems like it's pretty secure. Sure, the NSA can read the copies of mail without a warrent through services like Google, Yahoo, etc, but cracking into a service is different. You seem so sure that they could get in, but do you have any proof that they are even remotely capable? The FBI themselves admitted that they cannot break through Tor, and Tor provides a very strong layer of protection for hidden services behind it.

Regardless of how often people claim the government is all powerful and nothing holds them back, it has yet to be shown that they are actually capable of it.

Also, by "government get to it", I meant get to the actual e-mails. Of course the government is able to get to the TorMail service itself (as in, get to it to use it).

I could setup an email service tomorrow using Tor, would you use it ?

Well, no. But I wouldn't use it either even if you were a big company CEO (especially if you were a big company CEO). Trusting the admin is another thing altogether. However, I trust the admin of TorMail far more than I trust, say, the CEO of Google (or even the head of the NSA for that matter). I highly doubt the admin will use any data for selfish malicious purposes, and they certainly don't seem like they'd just give up the mail willingly to the government.

Of course, TorMail isn't my favorite mail service. I like them, but they're far to slow for me. I'm just saying that, on the technical side of things, they are far, far more secure than many other services.